Posts by Whiskeyjack

I got hooked on Coronation Street in the 70's when I was a little kid since it on when I got home from school in the afternoons (I still miss Hilda Ogden!). I still watch the Sunday morning round ups if I'm up and about that early. I was surprised to learn "Karen" was a JW child who still had trouble dealing with her past (shunned by her mother).

It's also very strange watching the long term characters' actors grwong so old now.

W.

27

We are NOT appostate

by jimakazi in

jw
friends

not to rain on the collective parade but what makes people here think they are appostate?

most of us have come to a rational conclusion that the jw / wtb is directed by a bunch of old men not directed by the holy spirit, is fallable, and cynically changes doctrine.

so to be against that is not to be appostate.

Whiskeyjack

Who know? In the U.S., it seems you can sue people for just about anything!

W.

14

Arts Degree Bummer

by JW83 in

jw
friends

is there anyone out there who can relate to the awful hollow feeling you get when you finish 4 1/2 years of uni to be qualified for absolutely nothing?!

i have to do postgrad next year to make anything of my honours degree & at the moment i am working part-time as a legal secretary, which i absolutely hate.

i think i have a severe case of burnout ...

Whiskeyjack

Undergraduate business degrees are losing their currency as well unfortunately (a pox on all stupid MBA's). Unless you're in a technical field, you need 6-7 years of education these days to find meaning ful (and decent paying!) work in western countires now.

Many undergrads have to go to community colleges after their university and hope the earlier education pays off later. Mind you, we have that "block" retirement later this century to look forward to.

W.

27

We are NOT appostate

by jimakazi in

jw
friends

not to rain on the collective parade but what makes people here think they are appostate?

most of us have come to a rational conclusion that the jw / wtb is directed by a bunch of old men not directed by the holy spirit, is fallable, and cynically changes doctrine.

so to be against that is not to be appostate.

Whiskeyjack

Jmakazi, I think for many it's a coopting of a "negative" designation much like Sub-Saharan Afriacan-Americans calling each other "my nigger". A mocking and rejection of the authority of the "labelers" if you will. My take on it anywaya. W.

15

Ain't Karma Grand?

by Low-Key Lysmith in

jw
friends

i just found out that the po of my old cong who presided over my disfellowshipping meeting was just disfellowshipped himself for a long history of horriffic physical and emotional abuse of his wife and family.. while i feel terrible for his family, i can't help but crack a smile when i think of him sitting in a cell (he was incarcerated for his evil deeds) stewing in his own juices.

when i was a kid in the cong, this guy was the most opiniated, judgemental, hateful asshole i have ever known.

i feel to some extent that justice has been served.

Whiskeyjack

It's good to know there some real justice out there now and again.

W.

12

I haven't been posting much lately

by Dustin in

jw
friends

i haven't been posting much lately.

i needed to take some time away, and figure out how i really felt about my feelings on life and religion in general.

this website really heped me gain a little closure on my exit from the jehovah's witnesses at a time when i really needed it.

Whiskeyjack

No problem Dustin. I was and still am a big brother to four siblings so I know what you mean. I still haven't made my mind up about God or the meaning of existence either but I've decided to "try" to be happy just "being here" and take the rest as it comes.

It's great that you're going back to school (hopefully you can study in an area of interest to you-I got stuck with a business program since it was all my bank would help pay for). The last couple of years I've hit one of those "valleys" in life (and if my second sib. hadn't stepped up to the plate, I probably wouldn't be here now - so life does offer one "payback") and have had to confront stuff like my JW upbringing and its after effects that I thought I had put behind me but am trying to move forward again.

I've learned to really value the people who "are there" for everyone else around them since they're what makes life bearable and balance my disappointment in humans in general.

W.

9

After four years, still cleaning up the trash.

by TemperateWarrior in

jw
friends

i have a question that i'd like to get feedback for:

how does a person get their finances in order after leaving the dubs?

i've left the b'organization with my family intact.

Whiskeyjack

Check out trades like plumbing. You might find a small firm willing to take somebody a little older but more responsible and motivated (you just need to sell yourself aong with a little luck in timing). You can get a great income in trades without the huge investment of University or colleges. One of my sibs did this and he makes more than us "smart" ones who've been downsized and starting over (Commerce and IT grads).

W.

25

My Dad

by Crumpet in

jw
friends

just a wee update on my current tentative drawing out of my family.

i sent a letter, which not coincidentally was timed to arrive on fathers day weekend just gone.

its the first letter i've sent in 8 years to my family and whilst i was careful to avoid any mention of religion i did talk about how happy i was generally and mentioned how nice it is that i see so much of my inlaws who despite living 800 miles away make regular visit to us at least 3 or 4 times a year.

Whiskeyjack

Good on ya Crumpet! Stick with it and keep chipping away as Delilah said... you never know.

W.

60

Up to our elbows in Newbs on JWD

by IP_SEC in

jw
friends

wow, what's going on here?

i look at all the new folk here that seem to have joined in the past 2 months and are posters who are under 100 posts and i gotta wonder why.. has something happened in dubland recently to cause a lot of folk to reach out?

if you are new here at jwd, how did you find us?

Whiskeyjack

If we're counting from January than that would also include me although I've moved up to the exalted level of Junior! I did check out a few sites in the early nineties out of curiousity but had already made my decision before then (during my University years before the internet exploded unto the scene). This is the first time I've really had an opportunity to check into the org.'s history and I now appreciate why they fear the internet so much.

This board was recommended to me my a sibling and I've been hanging around ever since learning about the range of people's experiences in the org and in leaving it. I used to be rather dismissive of people on message boards but the general quality of most people here has changed that forever.

All of my sibs still deal with the "after effects" to varying degrees and I'm really impressed with the kindness and love willingly offered to anybody needing it. We're a pretty unique club of people!

I am surprised that there aren't more teenagers (especially young JW's) on the board though. Do we need to become more "hip"?

W.